The present invention relates to an electrical connector.
It is known that currently connectors are used increasingly to accommodate electrical terminals to be connected to electrical connection wires.
In particular, these connection assemblies are used in mass-production wiring.
For this purpose, wiring machines are commercially available which automatically connect the electrical wires and the metallic terminals.
In order to allow the wiring machines to operate adequately, they must be supplied with corresponding terminals and connectors as simply and effectively as possible.
Feeding individual connectors was found immediately to be inadequate for wiring machines, due to the problems related to solving the supply dynamics and because these machines require a continuous supply stream at a very high rate.
Accordingly, packs constituted by a plurality of connectors arranged side by side in succession in hollow elongated supports have been provided.
However, this solution is not ideal due to the rigidity of the packs and to the difficulties encountered in handling them.
In order to obviate the problems of feeding connector packs in automatic machines (and the high product costs), reels constituted by a plurality of connectors connected to each other by mutual engagement have been provided.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a connector that has engagement means for providing belt-like series in order to feed wiring machines adequately and effectively.
Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector which, when joined in series to other connectors, can be separated simply and quickly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector whose application to the wiring operation can be substantially completely automated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector that is economically competitive to manufacture with respect to known ones and which can be manufactured with known technologies.
This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by an electrical connector, characterized in that it comprises a body made of plastics in which there are multiple side-by-side cavities, which in turn form seats that accommodate electrical terminals and ends of cables wired to the terminals, a cover being monolithically associated with said body by way of flexible straps, respective complementary male and female tabs protruding from opposite ends of said cover for series engagement so as to form belts for winding on reels.